Vice-captain of the Namibian national team, Ananias Gebhardt, says the team will not be drawn into the underdog’s title discussions and will be approaching Tuesday’s TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 Group E opener against Tunisia with a clear plan of intent.

The lanky defender, flanked by his coach Colin Benjamin, spoke from the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo, where they are preparing to make their fourth TotalEnergies CAF AFCON appearance.

“We don’t want to get lost in that underdog discussion in this competition. There is a match to be played, and we have to approach it as such. We will concentrate on what we can do. It will not be easy. We are playing against African giants and a team that is well recognized globally and is respected”, cautioned Gebhardt.

The 35-year-old left-back, who plies his trade in South Africa’s second division, responded to CAFOnline’s question of whether the team drew any confidence in Mozambique and Cape Verde’s impressive performances against Egypt and Ghana in their respective opening matches.

With this being their fourth appearance, the Brave Warriors are yet to make it out of the group stages of the competition, and being drawn against a group consisting of two former champions in Morocco and South Africa as well as a strong Mali side; the squad will rely on experienced players such as Peter Shalulile for inspiration.

“We are blessed to have a generational player like Shalulile. The Numbers don’t lie. He’s been doing great for the past few seasons. He doesn’t have to say much, but his work in every training speaks volumes. He is very influential and is our captain. It’s great to have a player like Shalulile,” concluded the coach about their on-field leader.

Kick-off at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium on Tuesday is at 17h00